Do you provide support to an elderly parent or in-law? Under the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, dependency exemptions for supporting relatives are suspended for 2018-2025, but you may be able to salvage some tax benefits if the parent watches your young children while you and your spouse work.

The home sale gain exclusion for a principal residence is one of the biggest tax benefits on the books. But you can’t claim any tax breaks for a personal home if you sell it at a loss, whether or not it’s your principal residence. Strategy: Convert your home into an investment property. In other words, hold it out for rent to tenants.

Suppose your spouse often helps out at work, but he or she isn’t on the payroll. Now you’re about to take an important business trip, and you need an assistant on call. Strategy: Make it official by hiring your spouse.

Alimony paid by a taxpayer is deductible while child support is not. Conversely, alimony payments are taxable to the recipient, while amounts paid for child support are tax free. Be aware of these tax ramifications if you’re negotiating a divorce. Then make sure the decree properly reflects your tax expectations.

Do you own undeveloped real estate that you would like to preserve in its pristine state? There’s a way to accomplish this goal and claim a current tax deduction while you still retain ownership of the property.

If you operate a business as an S corp, you may be able to claim a valuable tax loss against your other income. But the tax law generally limits such losses to the amount of your basis in the stock, plus any outstanding loans made directly from you to the corporation.

The Section 529 plan is a popular way for parents and grandparents to provide college funding for the younger generation. But suppose you’re the one thinking about college for the first time or going back to school. Why not set up a 529 plan for yourself?

Suppose your main place of business is your principal residence and you store valuables in a home office or a separate structure.Strategy: Install a home security system for the business part of the home.

Are you and your employees adequately protected in the event of a long-term illness? Strategy: Provide long-term care (LTC) insurance as a company-paid fringe benefit for employees (including yourself).

The “portability” provision in the federal estate tax provides greater flexibility in estate tax planning for married couples. Alert: The IRS has issued new final regulations pertaining to the portability provision.

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